Baby Sister Please

Natalia has been asking for a baby since she was 2 years old.  This desire for a younger sibling has only intensified over the years.  This week she asked me every morning whether or not we were going to get a baby sister.   (I am so not pregnant!)

"Mommy...can we get a baby sister today?"

I kept explaining to her that baby sisters took a while to come by.  In our case, it would take years.  Finally four days into this now familiar conversation she cut me off.

"No Mommy!" she said with an exasperated sigh.  "I don't want a baby from your tummy.  That takes too long.  Let's go to Target and buy a real baby."

I explained to her that while Target has a dizzying display of baby dolls, they are not in the business of selling real live babies.

"Well then we will just go from store to store until we find one."

The only thing that distracted her from this quest was the promise of a trip to the pet store for a purple beta fish.  We'll see how long that holds her.

Happy Friday

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Another Awesome Mother

I am still working on getting the photos from Halloween off of my card and onto my computer.  Natalia had a WONDERFUL time being a firefly (complete with a tutu and glow sticks on her bottom) and got to do big kid trick-or-treating with Hayden and Lexi.  It was really fun. 

In the meantime, I just wanted to share a link about a strong mother who allowed her son to be what he wanted to be on Halloween (the only day in the year when you should be able to dress up as you choose).  My favorite line from the post:

"I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off."

That is one good momma bear right there. 
Enjoy.


http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/

Game 2

Before tonight "cars" and "golf" were Natalia's two favorite things to watch on tv.  This could be because Opa is the one most likely to let her watch tv and his tv choices tend to veer towards the stock market and Nascar.  Because Natalia is a smart girl, and has generally already picked her stocks for the day, she tends to prefer to watch racing.  They can often be found cuddled in bed with Nascar blaring on the tv.  The golf channel happens to be right next to the racing channel, so they switch to golf during commercials.  Thus, her frequent requests for cars and golf. 


But tonight was all about the Giants.  We ordered pizza and watched Game 2 of the World Series.  Natalia, Tia, Nana and I were all gathered around the tv in Ama's room.  Opa and Odin were downstairs. Much of the game was spent discussing our day and outlining the requirements that Natalia must achieve before getting pregnant because, really, until the 7th inning, it wasn't too interesting of a game.  (Natalia has been obsessed with putting her babies under her shirt and pretending to be pregnant.  She even told me yesterday that we should get a real baby.  When I told her that they require a lot of attention and they only poop and cry she looked at me and said, "But Mommy, I am really good with babies."  At three.  Seriously!?!?  But I digress.)



By then end of the game she was cheering louder than the rest of us, pointing at the tv, and screaming, "That's what I'm talken 'bout."


 Guess she is ready to be a mom.  She certainly has her Little League scream down.

What Year Is It?

I sometimes wonder if Natalia is a time traveler.  How else would you explain her 1950's phrases?  I certainly do not talk like my grandfather.  And she certainly isn't picking it up at school.  First of all, they only speak Spanish.  Secondly, I feel like school is where you learn phrases like "neaner neaner" and "I'm not inviting you to my birthday party."  At least that's what we were teaching each other when I was a 3 year old.   I know that times have changed, but I thought that kids were becoming more and more irreverent.  Not more polite.  
I mean, how else did she learn that when someone accidental pulls your hair, the most heart warming and endearing way to respond  is with a smile, a pat on the arm, and a "It's ok Nana.  No harm done."

And how did she know that after an hour of walking all over Walnut Creek in search of a lemon cupcake, the only thing that would make me smile more than finding that illusive cupcake (which we never did find) would be to look down at her, see her place her hand on the glass of the 4th consecutive closed bakery, sigh, and say, "Well...I'll be darned."

The only explanation, other than time travel, that I have for her behaviour is that she must be reading Emily Post in her spare time.  Golly gee, a three year old reading?!?!  I know, I must be crazy. 

Think I can get her to take me on her next trip?

Traveling Again

This time I am traveling alone.  Natalia is staying home with Nana and Opa while I fly to Florida for the wedding of a college friend.  It wasn't two weeks ago that we were MELTING at Disneyland and now I'm leaving home again.  More stories and photos will come once I return home, but we had a great time.  Natalia and I took a rest on Day 3 and stayed inside (she was throwing up because of the intense heat) but she got to meet many of the princesses, see Mickey, and ride Dumbo countless times.  She also loved the Matterhorn (even though she was scared of the "white gorilla with red eyes" aka the Abominable Snowman) and Thunder Mountain Railroad.  The girl definitely has a thing for speed!

Leaving her this morning was really hard.  She has been such a Momma's Girl since we came back from Disneyland, even pleading with me yesterday to stay home from school, breaking down in tears and crawling into my lap when I said no.  Thank goodness for Nana....she was able to turn the whole thing around and Natalia actually skipped into class. 

I vividly remember waking up from a nap when I was 3 1/2 years old and feeling abandoned.  My mom had gone to the hospital to give birth to my sister while I was sleeping.  I was told that she had kissed me goodbye, but I was inconsolable.  Nothing anyone said could convince me that she hadn't just left.  Natalia is the same age and has a MUCH better memory that I do, so I decided wake up her up before I left.  Poor thing I was leaving at 4:00am.  She was quite upset at first, gripping onto me with all her might (and who wouldn't be, being ripped from sleep to be told that your mom is leaving).

"Please Mommy, can I come with you???  I'll be good.  I'll be super super good and happy!!!!  Don't go!!!"

Talk about ripping my heart out. 

"Just hold me a little more Mommy.  I need a little comfort.  A little more love."

Where does she come up with these things?  I love how honest and open she is, and constantly impressed with the access she has to her emotions and the confidence she has in expressing them. 

By the time everything was loaded in the car Natalia was a bundle of energy and happiness.  She got me some of her favorite cheese.  "Which do you want Mommy, white Laughing Cow cheese or yellow lactose-free cheese?"  Such a sweet girl.  Hugs and kisses followed and then she crawled into Nana's lap and waved good-bye. 

I'm so excited to see my friends but I will miss that little girl.  She holds my heart.

On our way

We are on our way to Disneyland for 5 days.  And yes, we are driving down.  I know.  But with 5 people, it just makes sense.  I just hope there is a lot of this:

And this:

And not too much of this:

Yes...she clearly loves the feel of gooey stuff on her face

Singing

She was taking a bath with her baby

 Natalia is obsessed with babies.  There is always a baby in her arms, a baby in her tummy, a baby sleeping, and often a baby pooping.  (Why do her babies poop so much?  I think she likes changing their diapers and cloths.  Clearly she has not encountered real baby poop.) 

Not only does she love to be the mommy of her own baby dolls, but she enjoys, from time to time, pretending to be a baby herself.  (She has, in fact, started asking me if she can go back in my tummy).  Sometimes this Baby Natalia is adorable and sweet.  More frequently though, Baby Natalia communicates with a whiny, high pitched cry that makes my skin crawl.  A couple weeks ago I was about ready to explode, so I took a deep breath and told her that when Baby Natalia cries it makes my heart hurt.  She looked very upset, so I quickly added that when she used her big girl voice it made my heart sing.  The idea of making Mommy's heart sing seems to have made quite an impression because now, when she does something that she thinks is good, she asks me if my heart is singing. 

After I ask her to do something:  "Look Mommy. I listened.  Did I make your heart sing?"

Upon waking up:  "Good morning Mommy.  I'm happy.  Does that make your heart sing?"

After a melt down:  "I calmed down Mommy.  Is your heart singing?"

Yesterday she asked if she could put her ear on my chest. She held it there for a moment, looked up at me with those big eyes of hers, and smiled.  "I heard your heart singing Mommy."

Yup baby girl, you did. 

She Asked Me To Take Her Picture

"Mommy take my picture and send it to Ama." 

That is how we started our morning yesterday.  



I know I should probably always work with Natalia on having good manners, but sometimes she is just too cute and has so much fun experiencing her food. 

How many more years will she be able to get away with this kind of eating.  And really, how different is this from a facial at a spa?  It's all natural and organic.  Look how supple her skin is.

 

We Have Done So Much




Natalia climbing the Great Wall of China

 

I cannot believe how much we have done this year.  The first six months were a whirlwind of travel.  Missouri, Tahoe, Connecticut, Portland, and CHINA.  Yup...the baby girl and I went to China with Nana, Opa, Ama, Sissi and Tia.  It was amazing (though I definitely want to go back again when the Bug is a bit older).  The people were wonderful and were totally in awe of Natalia.  They were obsessed.  Crowds would gather.  People would take pictures.  Many times a hand would shoot out from the crowd to try and caress her face or feel her hair.  I kind of felt like a movie star (even though they were only interested in my daughter) and then I became very protective of her.  She did sooooo well.  I think I would have snapped after the first day, but Natalia didn't throw a fit until day 9. After than she would start to cry and run to me if someone began to get close.  But even so, it was amazing!!! 


 

Ama, Natalia and I on the Yangtze River Cruise

 


Natalia got really good at the squat potties and came to prefer them








Pensive at a Temple



Making friends





Practicing Tai Chi in a Tea Garden



Pensive at a Temple



The people on the street of Shanghai thought this was hilarious.  Natalia was sitting on this little stool thumbing through Mao's Little Red Book.  She really looked like she was reading it.  At least 10 people stopped and took pictures.

 



Time

This photo has nothing to do with the post, but it cracks me up...she was "helping" me make brownies

I have made a new school year resolution to try and get Natalia to school on time (or at least within 5 minutes of the "start"). Yesterday we weren't doing so well. We got up late and I was frazzled. As I am trying to get Natalia to eat a granola bar, put on her shoes, brush her teeth, let me do her hair, and walk to the car (I know...too much stuff at one time) we had this conversation:

"Come one Natalia, we have to hurry. We are late!" (I must admit, that was not said in the nicest of tones. Sorry baby girl)

"It's ok Mommy. I have time."

I'm sorry. What!?!? I take a deep breath and close my eyes. We are going to be late for school. "You do?" I respond.

"Yes. It is right here in my pocket. Here take it," and she puts her hand into her pocket, pulls it out, and reaches towards me. "Take it Mommy. Take it."

"Ok. Thanks baby girl."

"No Mommy. You have to put it in your heart. Take the time from my pocket and put it in your heart. Then you will be happy again. Like this," and she places her hand over her heart.

I do the same and smile down at her as she says, "See Mommy...didn't that make your heart happy."

What a sweet girl I have. I am so lucky that she has these wise moments, reminding me to slow down and enjoy the time I have with her.

Mistakes

Natalia LOVES her Opa. She calls him "MY Opa" and constantly wants to be around him. He responds in like, reading to her every night, teaching her about the world, and generally spoiling her. They really have a connection and he can really bring out the best in her. This is one of the conversations they had tonight before bed. She was telling him about a book that she bent earlier today.

"I broke a book Opa!"

"Really?" he said, "How did you do that?"

"I did this," she said, moving her hands back and forth, pantomiming breaking the spine of a book.

Pause...

"Sometimes I make mistakes."

Seriously!?!? She isn't even 2 1/2 yet. I'm totally blown away by this little one. Can't even imagine what a full command of the English (or Spanish) language is going to bring.

What Dogs Say

This photo has nothing to do with the post, but it makes me crack up, so I thought I would share.

Natalia and I were feeding Odin this afternoon. As she was filling up his bowl Natalia stated, "When Odin eats it then he will burp."

"Does he say excuse me," I asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't have words." Pause. A thoughtful wrinkle of the nose. Then she looked up at me. "But Opa has words."

"And what does he say when he burps?"

"Whoa...That was a BIG one!!!"

Got to love him.

My Little Pulpo

Halloween 2008

Last year Natalia was an octopus for Halloween. This year, she said that she wanted to be a princess. But the day of her school's Halloween party, she found the costume from last year and would not take it off. So she was, once again, an octopus (or pulpo when she was at school).

(Notice anything besides the costume that is similar? Yup - the child is obsessed with lollipops - not that she gets them very often. She wouldn't even take this one out for the photo.)

The school party was a lot of fun. They had all kinds of stations and activities. Face painting, photo booth, popcorn, cookie decorating, and a pinata. Natalia espically liked the cooking decorating and the pinata.

She is such a careful decorator

And such a delicate and proper eater.

No way she is my kid...I don't know anyone who would attack a cookie like that.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Dreams

I love trying to see the world with Natalia's eyes. Through her I get to re-experience snippets of my own childhood, relive the wonder and excitement of learning something cool every day. I get to let my imagination run wild.

One of my new favorite memories occurred a couple days ago in the shower. I was just getting ready to squeegee the glass door (we don't want the glass door to be etched with soap scum now do we) when Natalia looked up, with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes and yelled, "Look Mommy...look at all those dreams."

"Do you mean drops?"

"No, they're DREAMS!"

She really can believe things very forcefully. Don't even try to tell her differently, if she things water drops are called dreams, THEY ARE DREAMS. Sometimes I try and gently correct her. Other times, it is nice to think of things her way. In this case I chose her way. How beautiful to think of all the droplets of water on the shower door as dreams.

So we left them on the door. One day of dreams doesn't a ruined shower door make.

Happy Halloween PJ's

Aunt Sarah is the best!!!! She is always sending the CUTEST cloths. I never have to worry about Natalia missing out on the latest holiday because right around the time I start thinking about buying her something a shoebox of surprises arrives in the mail.

This time it contained two sets of Halloween pj's and the cutest outfit ever. It has been a struggle to get the little one out of them ever since. The pj pants are the biggest hit because they glow in the dark. This once unknown phenomena now totally preoccupies Natalia - she'll walk right up to you, get real close to your pants, cup her hands around her eyes, and lean in. Why don't all pants glow in the dark? It is a questions I will have to answer for a while...

First Day of School

Natalia started preschool at My Spanish Village last week. I simply cannot believe that my baby is big enough to go to school!

She absolutely loves it - talks about the other kids in her class, jumps out of bed in the morning, and is already using Spanish every day.

"Vamos Mommy! Vamos!!!!"

"Leche . . . LECHE!!!!"

"Que pasa Mommy?"

It is so wonderful, but is definitely taking some getting used to hearing both languages come out of that little mouth.

What Would It Be Like To Have Twins?

Natalia and I went on this last trip to Tahoe with the Lyons Family. Courtney and Danielle had a wedding to go to in South Shore and I said I would watch Ava while they were partying like rock stars. The girls and I started off our afternoon with a trip to the meadow


It really is such a fabulous place. Tons of things to look at - birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, etc. Lots of space to run, and plenty of fresh air. The boardwalk also provided a perfect little bench for the girls to have a snack.




I had promised them that they could touch the COLD water in the brook on our way back to the car. Ava wanted to climb all over the rocks, while Natalia wanted to scoop up the sandy bottom. (I think I will feel a lot better about trips to the brook once the girls can swim and are big enough to rock climb without help. There is something about freezing cold water and jagged rocks that is so magnetic to those two, and knowing that I don't have to have a hand on them at all times will be so nice!)



The only way I was able to get them in the car was to promise that we would make play-dough when we got home. Now I have never made play-dough in my life. Thank goodness for my Blackberry. I downloaded a recipe for easy play-dough, pulled out two bowls, stripped down the girls, and put everything on the island.

The play-dough experiment started off a bit rocky. The recipe said 1 C water and 1 C flour with some salt and oil and cream of tarter thrown in. Maybe I didn't read all the directions. Maybe I was supposed to cook it on the stove, or put it in the microwave, or bake it, but let me tell you something. 1C of water and 1 C of flour do not play-dough make. A gooey, sticky, gloppy mess? Yes! Nice, moldable play-dough? NO!!!

"Sticky...Sticky...Stickly!!!" The consistency of the stuff almost broke Ava. She DOES NOT like to get messy. Sticky things are no fun for her. So having goopy, messy, flour stuck to her fingers was about the worst thing that could have happened. Uh-oh. I quickly washed off her hands and gave her a spoon. The world was once again all right.

Natalia on the other hand got the stuff ALL OVER. She plunged her hands in, wiped it on her legs, her belly, her face. It was like she was trying to give herself a play-dough wrap. Spa day for 2 year olds.

While spa day was a great idea, we did need some play-dough. So I just started mixing more flour in. Then a little more salt and cream of tarter. The some more oil. The some more water. I really have no idea how much I put in, but we ended up with a HUGE amount of the stuff. Natalia wanted hers blue, Ava wanted yellow, and then they mixed some up and made green.

As you can see, Natalia helped me mix the blue food coloring into the play-dough.

After we had all the fun one can have with play-dough (after Natalia started trying to eat it) we decided to take a bath. Those girls do love their water!!! We got all the sticky stuff off, bundled up into our pajamas

And headed to bed.


Good day!

We Have Contact

So you may have thought that Natalia and I fell off the face of the earth. In a way it is true. We have been traveling, and starting businesses, and getting ready to start preschool. Lots of work for two girls. But now we are back.

We recently returned home from a trip up to our cabin in Tahoe. Natalia got to spend lots of time outside in the meadow close to our house.

It used to just have dirt paths, but there is now a wonderful boardwalk that winds through it.

What a happy girl she is!

Roses

Our days have been filled with picking roses and looking at houses. Natalia is SUCH a trooper.

What is the saying? You can either be upset that roses have thorns or grateful that thorns have roses. Natalia is grateful that houses have roses and that roses have petals to pull off and scatter as she walks. On this particular day she was also grateful that one house had an "alter to the big screen."

It was not what I consider good use of nice marble tile, but it provided hours of entertainment for Natalia while the rest of us walked through the house. Nooks, and crannies and things to climb up and down on.

Like I said. Such a trooper.

And no, we did not put an offer in on this house.